No10 Rukawa?
by magenta blues
Summary: not everybody knows who Kaede really is. COMPLETED
1. Default Chapter

Title: No.10 Rukawa? One Shot  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Slam dunk at all  
  
Kai's POV  
  
I'm exactly five feet tall. I wear blue-framed glasses and I am physically challenged. That's just a fancy schmancy term that means the same thing as not being athletic. I don't hate sports, I just think that I could be allergic to it.  
  
Having said all that, you'll probably wondering why I'm in a packed indoor stadium, watching a game where ten sweaty males are required to run all over the court just to gain possession of one orange ball.  
  
If you figure it out, let me know, because I myself am wondering why too.  
  
Currently, I hear shouts of joy and cheering going on. I assume that our team must have scored so I stand up and cheer along. Unfortunately, I am greatly mistaken. It was actually Ryonan that had scored the point and now I'm the only idiot standing amidst the Shohoku fans, waving my hands like a mad woman, cheering for the wrong team.  
  
How humiliating.  
  
I sheepishly sit back down and make a great effort to ignore the glares that the Shohoku supporters are casting at me. I probably looked like some kind of horrible turncoat, eager to see the ruin of the Shohoku basketball club. I sink lower into my seat and I'm actually glad that I'm not tall for once.  
  
"Baka! Why did you do that? Don't bother coming if you're not cheering for our team!" My friend, Keiko hisses.  
  
I allow myself to shoot her a withering stare. She was the one who dragged me to this stupid game in the first place. She fails to notice my menacing look as she gathers her pom-poms and joins the rest in cheering our team. Apparently, this time, Shohoku did score.  
  
"Rukawa! Rukawa! L-O-V-E Rukawa!!"  
  
I cringe at the uniform high-pitched cries of the Rukawa Shinetai and try to plug out the noise by sticking my fingers in my ears. It doesn't work, and now I'm forced to watch them enter their cheerleader routine. They kick their legs high into the air, showing off their white panties to the crowd. I think that they can put cabaret girls to shame with their routine.  
  
I feel so embarrassed for them.  
  
"Oh my gosh, isn't he cute!" Keiko squeals and grabs my arm. I scream too, not because I find Rukawa cute, but because Keiko is squeezing my arm really tightly.  
  
"He looks so good when he's playing," Keiko sighs. I cast her a dubious look. I may be short sighted but Keiko must really have super powerful vision. We're sitting so high up that it's impossible to distinguish who each player is, much less see their faces. I say nothing in the end, for two very good reasons. One, it's dangerous to say anything bad about Rukawa when you're sitting amongst his legion of adoring fans, and two, I've never actually seen Rukawa before.  
  
I know what you're thinking now. It's impossible that I've never seen Rukawa before right? I mean, I go to the same school as him and he's like one of the most well known players in our school and I've never seen him before?? Well think again, it really is possible. Being vertically challenged has affected my chances of seeing Rukawa. That guy is so popular that he is constantly being mobbed by a humongous crowd of girls. There is no way I can see above that huge crowd and since I'm allergic to sports, I've never been to any of the basketball club's practices. I usually like to keep myself anyway. So Rukawa has always just been a name to me.  
  
Yeah, I'm such a loser.  
  
The game is now over. We've won. The girls are screaming and chanting Rukawa's name. I sneak away from them and decide to get myself a drink from the vending machine. I descend to the lowest floor where the machines are located. I make my way to the one nearest to the stairwell. I slot my coins into the machine and deliberate over Coke or Pepsi. As I'm deciding, I hear voices coming from down the corridor.  
  
"Bwahahahahahha! Where would you be without me Rukawa? I carried this team to victory!" "Do'aho"  
  
My ears prick up at the name "Rukawa". Maybe I'll finally get to see him.  
  
I forget about my drink and race down the corridor. As I round the corner, I crash headlong into someone, big.  
  
"Itai! Watch where you're going." I look up to see a tall redhead in the signature red Shohoku jersey, growling at me.  
  
"Why don't you watch where you're going!" I snarl back at the boy in the no. 10 jersey. We growl at each other for a few seconds, then he seems to forget me and continues muttering to himself.  
  
"Stupid girl runs into the basketball tensai and doesn't apologise," he grumbles.  
  
I'm all ready to come back at him with my own scathing retort when something clicks inside my head and my eyes start to widen.  
  
Basketball tensai? Was he Rukawa?  
  
Keiko always said that Rukawa was a genius in basketball, but she also said that he had dark hair. then again, sports stars are always dyeing their hairs and coming up with weird hairstyles. Just look at Japan's soccer team in the World Cup. Almost all of them had coloured their hair. Maybe Rukawa was trying to be like Dennis Rodman. That guy's hair went from green to orange to yellow. It would make sense that an ace basketball player would try to follow his American idol right?  
  
The redhead, 'Rukawa', walks away, but I can still hear him grumbling. He mutters something about how he stopped Sendoh and still does not get any respect. I'm now convinced that he is Rukawa. Who else can stop Sendoh but Rukawa?  
  
I pick myself up from the ground and dust myself. A huge smile is growing on my lips now that I've finally seen what Rukawa looks like. He was a little strange but I think I like him that way.  
  
"Kai -san! There you are!" I turn to see Keiko bounding towards me. We decide to leave as it is getting late.  
  
"Wasn't Rukawa cute?" Keiko says and sighs, a dreamy faraway look pasted on her face. "Yes he is, he's very cute." I reply, a shy smile creeps onto my lips as my thoughts wander back to the tall basketball player with the fiery brown eyes. I make a mental note to remember that his jersey number was 10. And for the first time, I realise that I can't wait to see Rukawa again. I can't wait to see the Shohoku ace with flaming red hair.  
  
A/N:*grins* hope that wasn't too long and weird, it came to me suddenly and I just decided to write it. 


	2. chapter 2

A/N: this was actually meant to be a one shot but the people who have reviewed really encouraged me to continue writing. so I think I'll add 4 or 5 more chapters to this story.  
  
To tensaispira, angel, sLL, hermione, frozen female: thanks for the reviews. much appreciated. I hope the following chapters will not disappoint you guys  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Slam dunk.  
  
"Kai-san? Wha.?"  
  
I raise my hand to stop Keiko from speaking. I am not in the mood to listen to her incessant chatter and questions. She gives me a puzzled, injured look which I dutifully ignore as I storm towards a table on the far end of the canteen. As I unwrap the tin foil that protects my sandwich, I see her shooting me one last questioning look before she zips out of the canteen and makes her way to the rooftop.  
  
Word is that Rukawa spends a lot of time there.  
  
I glumly take a bite out of my sandwich. Anyone who looks at me now, knows that I'm having a bad day. There are footprint marks all over my uniform. Strange sight you would think. It's as if someone walked all over me.  
  
Well that DID happen, only it wasn't someone, it was dozens of people.  
  
***  
  
I arrived at school at precisely 7.20 am this morning. A huge crowd of people had already gathered at the school gate, eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Shohoku basketball team. Overnight, our team had gone from underdogs to superstars, and now everyone wanted a piece of the action.  
  
I tried to make my way through the crowd but everybody refused to budge for me, for fear of losing their precious spot at the school gate.  
  
The crowd never parts for the little people.  
  
Everybody wanted to be the first ones to welcome the team. Wait, make that everybody wanted to be the first ones to welcome Rukawa. On second look, I realized that the crowd was mainly made up of girls, and several of them were waving huge placards that read, "I love you Rukawa!".  
  
Oh yip-pee. .  
  
I gave up trying to squeeze through the crowd and plopped myself onto the ground. I decided to wait for the team's arrival too. After all, the saying does go 'if you can't beat them, join them.'.  
  
What a stupid saying.  
  
Minutes later, I found myself being trampled upon, stepped on, stampeded by dozens of people as the crowd rushed forward to greet the team. I sustained a few bruises from the incident and an aching back. My uniform was turned into a gray mess, and my books were scattered all over the ground.  
  
But the worst thing about it all, was watching the crowd that surrounded the team, increase rapidly in number, and realizing that I never really stood a chance.  
  
***  
  
I guess that's partly why I didn't follow Keiko up to the rooftop. There were so many leggy beauties in the Rukawa Shinetai, why on earth would Rukawa notice me? I can't compare with them, so it's not exactly premature to throw in the towel now.  
  
"Mm.mm.mm, Ore Wa Tensai basketball man."  
  
I shudder as my poor ears are subjected to the worst off-key singing they're ever heard. It sounded as a duck was being strangled.  
  
I turn to see who is making that awful noise and I do a double take. My mouth basically hangs wide open as I stare at the singer of that now strangely beautiful song.  
  
Rukawa is just two tables away from me. Four other guys occupy his table. GUYS, no girls. I am truly amazed. The Rukawa Shinetai really screwed up this time. Rooftop, yeah right!  
  
I'm grinning stupidly now. I have a perfect view of Rukawa. Red hair, brown eyes and all.  
  
So cute.  
  
I begin to feel bold. This is an opportunity not to be missed. I finish up my sandwich and try to make myself look as presentable as I can in this "foot-trodden" uniform. My heart beats faster as I approach his table.  
  
"Hi, can I join you guys?" 


	3. chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Slam Dunk at all.  
  
"Hi, can I join you guys?" I say brightly, maybe a little too brightly. I sound as if I'm high on helium. I panic and start to think that maybe this isn't such a great idea. Thousands of "what ifs" flash through my mind and I start envisioning horrible reactions to my question.  
  
Breathe Kai, breathe. Great. I can stand in front of a huge audience and debate the most controversial issues on the planet, but in front of 5 boys, I turn into a blithering, blubbering imbecile.  
  
The irony sickens me.  
  
The boys abruptly end their lively conversation and stare at me. Five blank faces greet me. No words are exchanged and the silence only helps to add to my discomfort.  
  
"Uh do we know you?" one of them, the dark haired one, says. He's frowning at me, as if trying to recall my face.  
  
"Well, no. But I bumped into you on Saturday!" I address Rukawa directly and smile hopefully at him.  
  
Please, please, please remember me.  
  
He stares blankly back at me.  
  
"Ok, never mind then. I guess I'll be leaving now!" I squeak and turn around quickly to hide my red cheeks. I can imagine them mimicking my awkward behaviour and laughing at my weird actions. They're probably wondering why a geek like me, has anything to with them anyway.  
  
"Hey wait!"  
  
I stop in my tracks but I can't bring myself to face them. I don't think I can take the mocking looks on their faces. For a split second, I just stand there, fidgeting. Then I force myself to look at them.  
  
"Didn't you want to sit with us?" The dark haired boy says and smiles kindly at me.  
  
Huh?  
  
"Y.yes," I stutter. I'm vaguely aware that my feet are taking me back to their table. The dark haired boy pulls out a seat for me, and I lower myself into it. I smile a tentative smile at all of them. They smile back.  
  
I'm not sure of what to say now, as I never expected to get this far. So I just continue smiling at them. And that's all we do for a while, just smile at each other.  
  
"So. I'm Youhei," The dark haired boy introduces himself, and I inwardly thank him for speaking up as my jaw is starting to ache a lot. "And that's Takamiya, Ohkesu, Noma and."  
  
"Oh I know his name!" I interrupt Youhei at this point and manage another smile at Rukawa.  
  
"You do?" The bespectacled one, Takamiya says curiously.  
  
"Yeah I'm actually a big fan of his." I say. The four boys exchange looks. Then they burst out laughing.  
  
"A fan?? A fan of the king of fouls?? Hahaha!"  
  
"The world must be coming to an end!!"  
  
I scowl at all of them and silently wish that they laugh so hard that they'll pee in their pants. I don't think that what I said was funny at all. Rukawa has tons of fans, why is it funny that I am one of them? Unless.  
  
I don't have time to react though, because Rukawa suddenly goes crazy and starts head-butting all of them. I watch in horror as each of them collapses to the ground, somewhat paralysed by the shocks they've received.  
  
"Mmhahahaha, so you're a fan of the tensai!" Rukawa says and laughs again. His swift changing moods amazes me.  
  
"Yeah, I think you play basketball really well. You make playing basketball an, um art form!" Maybe I'm laying it on a little too thick, but Rukawa seems to buy it. He seems more pleased and he laughs even louder.  
  
The bell rings and I snatch up my last chance to ask him out.  
  
"So uh, would you like to go for a movie sometime?" I ask boldly. He looks at me for a moment and then reaches over to pat my shoulder.  
  
"I can't, I have my Haruko-chan" I blush at his words. I should have known he had a girlfriend. It was strange that Keiko never mentioned it though. I mumble my goodbye and walk away quickly.  
  
"Megane-chan!" I pause and look at him. "What's your name?"  
  
I smile my first genuine smile of the day.  
  
"It's Kai." I say and disappear into the crowd. ***  
  
I meet up with Keiko in the hallway. She's a little down because she didn't get to see Rukawa at the rooftop today. Apparently he was in the gym practising. I cannot resist telling her about my little lunch meeting with him.  
  
"WHAT!!" Keiko practically screams into my ear. I continue to tell her that I even asked him out. Keiko stares at me incredulously. She's not too pleased to hear this bit of news though, because she grabs me by the collar and asks me if I'm for real.  
  
I squirm out of her tight hold and tell her that he turned me down already.  
  
"Besides he's interested in some other girl, a Haruko something." I say as I straighten my uniform.  
  
"The Akagi girl!!" Keiko screamed louder. By now everyone in the hallway is looking at us curiously. Keiko glares at them.  
  
We have to part ways and head for our respective classes. I bid Keiko good-bye but I don't think she hears me. She storms off, muttering something about how the Akagi girl is going to get it when the rest finds out about this. I should have never said anything to Keiko.  
  
I walk briskly to my class. I pass by a classroom and see a familiar redhead inside, struggling to solve the question on the board. Poor guy.  
  
"SAKURAGI HANAMICHI! Do you or do you not know the answer!" The sensei roars.  
  
I shake my head and am about to walk on when the sensei's words sink in.  
  
Sakuragi Hanamichi? Then he's not. .  
  
I watch in disbelief as 'Rukawa' responds to the name of Sakuragi Hanamichi and sullenly retreats to his seat. 


	4. chapter 4

Rukawa. Is not. Rukawa.  
  
He is in fact some guy called Sakuragi Hanamichi and the real, genuine article is still at large.  
  
AGGGHHHHH!  
  
I throw my pen down in frustration and knock my head against my knuckles repeatedly. How could I have been so stupid?  
  
"You know we might be able to get more work done if you stopped knocking your own head and actually tried to do some thinking." My classmate, Mia, says icily. We are supposed to be discussing the various forms of social hierarchies in different societies and I have apparently been zoning out. Mia, of course, takes it upon herself to remind me of that obvious fact.  
  
I contemplate stabbing her with my pen but then figure that her skin is so thick that my pen will fracture into two upon contact.  
  
Sigh.  
  
I smile at Mia and pretend to be delighted to participate in the discussion. Then it hits me that I've never really voiced out my true thoughts on a lot of matters. I'm always pretending to be in the know and on top of everything, when really I know nothing.  
  
Never told Keiko what I really thought about her pom-pom antics, never told Mia to shut up even though I'm on the verge of making a hit list and putting her as No. 1, never mentioned to Sensei how time consuming it would be for me to be in charge of the mentoring program. Never dared to tell anyone that I was oblivious as to who Rukawa really is.  
  
So why do I pretend so much? So that I'll be better liked by others? I'm still almost a zero on the popularity scale. It's not as if bending to others has helped me, so why am I afraid to tell the truth?  
  
I think I ask too many questions. I just want to forget everything that has happened and start on a clean slate. I want to start out again and just be me.  
  
The bell rings and Mia snarls at me one last time. I have yet to contribute to the discussion. I smile at her again, not because I'm trying to be fake but because I know how much my smile irritates her.  
  
You can practically see the smoke coming out of her ears.  
  
I stop at my locker and unload some of the contents in my bag. There are a couple of guys chatting by my locker. They're arguing over who's the hottest babe in school.  
  
"Man, that basketball team manager * whistles *, she's hot!" I overhear one of them say.  
  
"Maybe too hot. Have you seen the way she handles the team members? No one escapes her fan. She's deadly!" Another remarks and frowns  
  
"You just like them easy like that chick in your biology class. Too bad she's so besotted with Rukawa."  
  
"Hey, want to see something cool? I heard there's going to be a catfight at the gym. A bunch of girls against that cutesy Haruko."  
  
" Girls fighting? Cooooool." The guys snicker together.  
  
There's something about guys and raging hormones. It makes their brains stop working. I shake my head as I walk away, but the name Haruko nags at me.  
  
Haruko. . Haruko. why is that name so familiar?  
  
Oh no. ***  
  
I run as fast as my short stumpy legs can take me to the gym. True to form, there is a large crowd of girls at the gym's entrance, only this time their attention is directed at another girl.  
  
"Akagi Haruko!! You're using your brother's influence to get Rukawa aren't you?" The leader of the group cries.  
  
"What?" The girl, I assume is Haruko, says. She's baffled by the crowd of angry females around her.  
  
"Don't act dumb with us! You stole Rukawa from us!!"  
  
"You mean. Rukawa likes me?" Haruko suddenly has this dazed, happy look on her face. She swoons and I think she might faint from pure happiness. The Rukawa Shinetai, however, is incensed by her words.  
  
"He doesn't like you! He loves us! You just stole him!" The girls somehow manage to scream in unison. They start pulling Haruko's hair and clawing at her face. I try to part them but my words fall on deaf ears and my efforts are useless in separating the swarm of the girls that now pounce at Haruko's neck.  
  
Then he appears. He drags Haruko out of the way and shields her with his body.  
  
"Crazy kitsune fan girls! What on earth are you doing?"  
  
"Stupid redhead-no-talent-monkey! Get out of our way!"  
  
"Teme!"  
  
They argue back and forth. Sakuragi Hanamichi versus a legion of fanatics. The name-calling increases, the shrill voices and lone masculine one, reach new altitudes.  
  
"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP!!!"  
  
There's a sudden peace that falls over the group as everyone turns to look at me. Gulp. 


	5. chapter 5

A thousand eyes peering deep into mine. Unflinching in the intensity of their gaze, unnerving in their effect.  
  
Freaky. .  
  
I struggle to form coherent sentences in my brain, but the powers of speech fail me and their piercing looks dry the words on my tongue. So I stand like a fool before all of them, nervously shifting from foot to foot.  
  
They continue staring at me. I can feel the sweat gathering at my brow. Damn it Kai, speak to them! Tell them something! Anything!  
  
"Uh." I say weakly.  
  
Brilliant Kai. you managed to say "uh". That was so not what I meant when I said say something.  
  
I think the Rukawa Shinetai has gotten bored of me, because they now totally ignore my presence and go back to bickering with Sakuragi.  
  
"Baka redhead! Mind your own business!" The three leaders of the Shinetai yell, or rather screech.  
  
"Teme!!! How dare you say that to the tensai basketball man!"  
  
"I WASN'T DONE SPEAKING YET!" I yell and shove one of the leaders aside. I wedge myself between Sakuragi and the crazy Rukawa fan girls. It's a tight fit and I can practically feel Sakuragi breathing down on me. I can also smell the lunch he ate and make a mental note to offer him one of my breath mints later.  
  
The girl that I shoved aside shoots me a murderous look. I growl back at her.  
  
"What do you want?" The girl says in a patronizing tone and looks down at me. Yes, she looks down at me. I had to be shorter than her.  
  
"Don't speak to Kai like that!" My favourite redhead defends me and succeeds in angering the Shinetai again.  
  
"Kai? Why are you defending her? Isn't she the slut who stole Rukawa from us?" Keiko spits out her words. The Shinetai chorus their agreement.  
  
"Nani? Haruko and Kitsune are together?" Sakuragi suddenly loses his bravado and starts to tear. He sniffs loudly. One of Haruko's friends hesitantly hands him a tissue. I feel awful watching him cry. Shit, why did he have to like her so much? If I told him the truth, he would just regain hope and continue to chase after her.  
  
And if I tell him the truth, he might just hate me because I'm the cause of this whole mess.  
  
I wrestle with the truth in my mind, and in the end decide to come clean. I really can't stand to see a guy cry.  
  
"No, Keiko. that was a lie. Rukawa never liked Haruko."  
  
"WHAT!!" The girls explode in disbelief. Some are actually crying tears of relief and joy. Some look ready to kill me. Immediately, I'm bombarded with questions and accusations.  
  
"It was a lie?" Some of the girls, who are slower in catching on, ask.  
  
"You lied to me?" Keiko says, outraged.  
  
"So Rukawa doesn't like me?" A tearful Haruko manages.  
  
The questions keep flying in and I struggle to explain the whole mess. They are not really listening to me anyway since half of them are celebrating Rukawa's 'newfound' singlehood. I don't really care about them anyway. There are only two people that I want to focus on and one of them is glaring furiously at me. I don't blame Keiko for being mad at me. She thinks that I lied to her, she doesn't know that the truth is so much more complicated than that.  
  
The other person. I turn my head slightly and hastily sneak a peek at him. The look on his face makes me wish that I hadn't. He looks at me in confusion and speaks to me in a voice thick with emotion.  
  
"Why did you tell them that Rukawa liked Haruko?"  
  
* * *  
  
Meanwhile in the gym.  
  
The tall captain's face grows darker and darker as he watches the scene unfold before him. The baka redhead has his hands on his sister. The Rukawa Shinetai has succeeded in disrupting his team's practice again. They have distracted and taken away one of their starting members.  
  
He puts up with their daily screeching and ridiculous antics. He just wants a little quiet for once. He often gets the opposite, but he still tolerates them.  
  
He's not quite sure he can do that today.  
  
Today they brought their petty catfights to the gym. Today, they picked on his sister.  
  
The shouting increases outside. The girls break into their normal "Love me Rukawa" cheer again while some can still be heard slinging profanities at each other.  
  
"L-O-V-"  
  
"LIAR! SLUT!"  
  
"E! Rukawa!"  
  
A vein pops in the captain's head as he reaches his limit.  
  
"Rukawa!!!!" The captain roars. A raven-haired boy completes his lay up shot. He has been completely oblivious to the commotion outside. "Do something about those girls and get Sakuragi back here!"  
  
"You want me to do something?" Rukawa asks.  
  
"They're your fans aren't they?" The captain says through clenched teeth. The raven-haired boy merely shrugs his shoulders and makes his way to the gym entrance.  
  
* * *  
  
"Why did you lie to us?" Keiko complains. A few of them join her lead and start interrogating me. My mind is whirling as I try to think my way out of the mess I've created. The "We-hate-Haruko" crowd is fast becoming a "We- hate-Kai" crowd. I doubt any one of them would believe the truth. They would probably find it ludicrous that I could mistake their nemesis for their idol.  
  
"Uh. I lied because. because I was jealous and uh."  
  
Somebody save me from this mess. Anyone.  
  
"Oh my gosh! It's him!!" One of the girls shrieks. The whole groups of us turn to look in her direction and see a tall raven-haired boy at the doorway. He grabs Sakuragi by his collar and drags him in. The Rukawa Shinetai suddenly goes ballistic and starts to scream hysterically.  
  
The raven-haired boy blinks at them and then slides the door shut.  
  
"Nani? Rukawa-kun!! Don't shut the door! We love you!!" The girls cry and hammer at the door. They try to open it but their efforts are in vain. Some of them wail at the fact that their idol has locked them out, others try cheering louder in hopes that he'll open the door again.  
  
And myself? I just stare at the door and think a very silly thought.  
  
'So that's Rukawa.'  
  
* * *  
  
It's close to 8.30pm and I'm hiding out in the school's reading room. Most of the Rukawa Shinetai have already left school, utterly dejected by the fact that their idol locked them out. I'm still hiding just in case some of them change their mind and come after me.  
  
I discern that the coast is clear and decide to leave now. I hurry over to the school gate. It is locked. I throw my school bag over to the other side and start to climb.  
  
"Need a hand?" Someone says and gives me a boost over the gate. I land awkwardly on the other side. I dust myself quickly and look up to thank my helper. Even in the dim light his red hair stands out.  
  
He deftly climbs over the gate and lands beside me.  
  
"How did you know I would still be around?"  
  
"I figured that you might leave school later since there are so many crazy fan girls out for your blood. So I waited for you. You might need a bodyguard to protect you on your way back" "You might endanger my life instead, you're not very popular with them either." I say and smile. He takes my bag and we make our way back home together. The whole thing is so surreal.  
  
"So why did you tell them Rukawa likes Haruko?"  
  
Damn. I knew that had to be a catch to all this.  
  
A/N: guys thanks for all your reviews!! They really kept me going. You can't imagine how much encouragement I draw from your reviews. I know this chapter was a little long and had a lot of dialogue in it. I'm sorry if it was tedious to read and all. I know I said I would finish this in 5 chapters but my ending is way too long so I need one more chapter to finish this fic. This story should be over by the next chapter. Thanks again for your support 


	6. chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Slam Dunk.  
  
I can think of dozens of different ways to avoid answering that question.  
  
But I don't think I want to carry out any one of them.  
  
Partly because some of them involve me acting like a demented fool who is hard of hearing, and partly because I just want to put this whole mess behind me.  
  
So I tell him the truth, matter-of-factly.  
  
He doesn't quite take it too well.  
  
"NANI? You thought I was that ugly, no good, foxy-face."  
  
Okkkaayyy, he doesn't take it well at all.  
  
"good-for-nothing, no talent, junior high level, emotionless, baka."  
  
"I'm sorry but it was an honest mistake!" I protest in vain. My words only help to irk the redhead even more.  
  
"We are as different as night and day! I am TENSAI, he is NOTHING!!" Sakuragi stresses and make me feel as if I have an IQ that is the same level as room temperature water. He continues to rant and rave, and I grow more and more annoyed at his increasingly patronizing tone. Eventually, I get fed up with him too and start provoking him by stating that tensais are usually famous and that I have never heard of him until as of late.  
  
He retorts by claiming that he is 'BIG' news. He sarcastically reminds me of the fact that I didn't know who Rukawa was either until today, and therefore wouldn't be able to recognize 'BIG' news even when I saw it.  
  
Well, on this note, he is right. . . but he didn't have to bring it up and rub it in my face.  
  
We engage in a full-on verbal battle and start hurling insults at each other.  
  
"You are such a narcissistic, ego-centric maniac who is just so full of it!" I say in a temper.  
  
"Yeah, well. . I didn't quite understand all that you have just said but I'm going to check it up! And if it means what I think it means. ." He takes a step towards me threateningly. I am surprised at his sudden action and my mouth automatically clamps shut. We're standing very close to each other now and the proximity of our bodies makes my heart involuntarily thump faster. I can feel the heat emanating from his body and it actually makes me a little giddy.  
  
"A.and?" I manage to croak out. He looks at me carefully and his expression softens.  
  
"Shoot, I didn't mean to scare you," Sakuragi says and takes a step back. "Are you ok? You look kind of pale."  
  
I nod, not sure of what else to say now.  
  
We walk in silence, both of us using the moment of peace to cool down. I still want to speak to him and apologise for calling him an egotist, even if he doesn't quite know what it means. I just want to straighten things out.  
  
He speaks first though. "And to think I thought I had my first fan," Sakuragi gives a short laugh and shakes his head. "Instead you turn out to be kitsune's fan girl. Tensais are never truly recognized I guess."  
  
I stop him in mid-stride.  
  
"I'm not Rukawa's fan girl," He raises an eyebrow at this. "I'm nobody's fan girl." The expectant look fades from his face.  
  
"I would, though, like to be your friend." I add and smile at him. He doesn't reply immediately. When he finally does, his answer is almost inaudible.  
  
But I catch it anyway.  
  
"We could work on that"  
  
*~*~*~*~  
  
2 weeks later.  
  
Keiko and I have resolved things. I explained to her that I never did lie to her and told her the truth about the Rukawa-Sakuragi fiasco.  
  
She didn't believe me the first time I told her about it. According to her, no one could be so stupid as to mix up Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede.  
  
I guess I proved her wrong.  
  
When she did believe me, she proceeded to swat my head a few times with her book, and told me to wake up and not be so spacey. This, from the girl who used to be part of the Rukawa Shinetai.  
  
I say 'used to' because Keiko has changed loyalties. Since that day at the gym where Rukawa snubbed all the fan girls, Keiko has decided to devote her attentions to an idol that would be more appreciative. She is currently trying to start a Sendoh Shinetai in school. She thinks that Sendoh would be more appreciative to his fans because he looks a lot more approachable and can always be seen smiling.  
  
Sakuragi tried to get her to start a Sakuragi fan club but to no avail. He promised her that he would smile at his fans all the time. Keiko rejected his offer.  
  
Keiko and I hang out a lot with Sakuragi and his gang now. We eat lunch with them and hang out after school. We often attend the basketball practices, encouraging Sakuragi through discouraging remarks.  
  
"Oy! Kai! Are you ready yet?" I hear a familiar raspy voice yelling at me. I poke my head out of my window and yell back at the redhead below. I tell him to wait.  
  
I race down the stairs and grab my gym togs on the way. Sakuragi is teaching me the art of basketball. He's trying to prove that I'm not allergic to sports. I think that I still am but I enjoy these sessions anyway. I know he's still hung up on Haruko but I can't help liking him. I think it's good that we're just friends now and nothing more, because there is still a lot that we don't know about each other.  
  
"Kai! Hurry!"  
  
As I run out to meet him, I remind myself to thank Rukawa Kaede one day. Without him, the whole mix-up would never happen. Without him, I would not have my newfound friends, without him, I may never have known who Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa himself, really were.  
  
A/N: Please review and tell me if you hate or like this fic. thanks! 


End file.
